Sections

This video will make you think twice about eating Nutella

Canadian obesity specialist breaks down ingredients of the chocolate spread and finds a whole lot of sugar

A video by Dr. Yoni Freedhoff explores the health claims of Nutella and its fans, finding that there is much more sugar in the chocolate hazelnut spread than the company's advertising would lead you to believe.Photo: geishabot / nemuneko.jc / Flickr

“Breakfast loves Nutella,” according to makers of the chocolate hazelnut spread — but should you love Nutella? A Canadian physician who looked at the ingredients doesn’t think so.

Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, an obesity specialist at the University of Ottawa, found much more sugar and far fewer hazelnuts in Nutella than the company’s advertising would lead you to believe. He shared his results in a YouTube video every parent should watch before serving Nutella for breakfast.

According to Freedhoff, an average serving of two tablespoons contains five hazelnuts, a dash of skim milk powder, whey powder and cocoa powder, half a teaspoon of palm oil and 5.5 teaspoons of sugar.

That’s the same amount of sugar contained in five Oreo cookies — and few parents would let their kids eat that many cookies and call it breakfast.

“It is not healthy, breakfast does not love it,” said Freedhoff in his video. “You might love it, but this does not help to make a nutritious breakfast fun. It helps to make a nutritious breakfast non-nutritious.”